The UK has imposed sanctions on companies supporting the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces, according to an official memorandum.
The UK government has added three new classifications to its sanctions system related to Sudan, as reported by Reuters news agency.
The decision came after clashes erupted in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, resulting in at least six deaths and dozens of injuries.
The city had previously been spared from the conflicts that unfolded in Sudan over the past year between the army and Rapid Support Forces. These clashes occurred simultaneously with an international conference in Paris aimed at addressing the crisis.
The Sudanese Doctors Union stated Sunday evening that six people had died and 61 were injured at El Fasher South Hospital due to the recent clashes.
Earlier reports from resistance committees in the city indicated that nine civilians had been killed in clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army.
The Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” currently control four of the five state capitals forming the western region of the country, except for El Fasher, where armed rebel groups are based. However, they pledged to remain neutral and avoid slipping into conflict until recently.
In response to the deteriorating situation in North Darfur’s capital, armed movements that signed the Juba Agreement issued a statement on Thursday, indicating that neutrality was no longer an option.
They confirmed their intention to fight alongside their allies, nationalists, and armed forces against the militias of the Rapid Support Forces and their mercenaries.
Recent days have seen clashes on two fronts in El Fasher: the first between the Rapid Support Forces and armed movements in West El Fasher and in the city of Mellit, located 100 kilometers north of it. The second front involves clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in the capital of Darfur itself.
